THE AMERICAS
A new California online poker bill offered hope for PokerStars while a new Nevada bill may threaten poker staking; Full Tilt’s premature digital ejaculation disappointed New Jersey poker players while the new WSOP.com/888Poker tandem surpassed PartyPoker New Jersey’s liquidity; a judge said Caesars Entertainment’s controversial asset transfers violated federal law and Caesars’ Linq property closed its poker room; Amaya Gaming poached OLG’s digital chief; Ladbrokes’ Sportium JV entered the Mexican online gambling market; Hawaii proposed duty-free slots at airports; fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel revealed their earnings reports; the American Gaming Association said sports betting bans don’t work; a judge okayed Glenn Straub’s purchase of Atlantic City’s Revel casino; Bluff Magazine switched to an all-digital format and Lee Davy threw popcorn at Mark Wahlberg’s The Gambler.
EUROPE
William Hill profit fell in Q4 but rose in 2014; UK internet service providers imposed porn and gambling filters; Russia threatened to payment-block online gambling sites; the Senet Group launched its new responsible gambling campaign; Global Reviews caught William Hill poaching Ladbrokes’ digital customers; Sky Betting & Gaming launched its new social casino; Stanleybet lost its Italian betting license dispute; Greece’s likely next prime minister warned that the sale of OPAP was “not a done event;” Olympic Entertainment signed on to manage Malta’s largest casino; Boylesports boosted its Irish retail presence; WSOP bracelet winner Darren Woods was sentenced to 15 months in prison; World Poker Tour president Adam Pilska believes your job sucks donkeys compared to his; futurist Martin Kruse analyzed the impact on online gambling of Big Data and Augmented Reality; Compact Global’s Chris Searle told Rebecca Liggero how to improve her public image; Robbie Davies told affiliates how to maximize their time at the London Affiliate Conference and ICE Totally Gaming wants startups to make them an offer they can’t refuse.
ASIA
Galaxy Entertainment vowed to spend another $7b expanding Galaxy Macau; David Group revealed its plan to hibernate’ until Macau’s VIPs return while Gold Moon Group closed another VIP room; China ordered online lotteries to go offline by March 1; South Korea vowed to issue two more casino licenses in 2015; Vietnam busted an online gambling ring linked to 12Bet.com; Sands China CEO Ed Tracy called it quits; City Of Dreams was forced to halt expansion work after a worker died; Japanese lawmakers geared up for another casino push in 2015: Nepal gave a casino license to Silver Heritage and Stamford Law’s Wai-Ming Yap analyzed Singapore’s new online gambling prohibition.
